2023 Breeders’ Cup Wrap Up

Breeders’ Cup
World Championships Wrap Up

Trainer Bill Mott won three Breeders’ Cup races this year, including two repeat winners!

Date: 11/06/2023

The 40th Breeders’ Cup World Championships held on Friday and Saturday, November 3 and 4, 2023, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, are now in the record books. Attendance on Championship Saturday was 66,247 and the two-day on-track attendance was 109,624. On-track handle for the 2 days was $19,419,844. Total all-sources, global common-pool handle for the two-day Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Race Course was $176,281,989, third highest ever. Total common-pool handle on Saturday’s 12-race Breeders’ Cup card was $114,145,050. All sources common-pool handle on Breeders’ Cup’s 10-race Future Stars Friday card was $62,136,939. This is the sixth consecutive year that Breeders’ Cup grouped all its juvenile races together on Friday.

Breeders’ Cup CEO Drew Fleming said, “Racing fans here and from around the world were treated to two days of the very best of our sport, including three repeat champions. The 40th running of the Breeders’ Cup was certainly worthy of the vision of its founders, who set out to create one of the most prestigious international events in our sport. We want to thank all of the weekend’s participants, our sponsors, the communities of Arcadia and Pasadena, and our partners from 1/ST racing for their support.”

The Championships were held at Santa Anita for a record 11th time, the first in 1986. Santa Anita has hosted the 10th, 20th, 30th, and now the 40th anniversary runnings. The 41st Breeders’ Cup World Championships will be held Friday-Saturday, Nov. 1 & 2, 2024 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club near San Diego, California.

Irad Ortiz Jr. celebrates aboard Goodnight Olive (Filly and Mare Sprint) after she repeated her win.

Jockey Irad Ortiz won the Bill Shoemaker Award, given to the most outstanding rider at the Championships, for the fifth time. The Shoemaker Award goes to the jockey who won the most races in the 14 World Championship races this weekend with the tiebreaker being a 10-3-1 point system for second- through fourth-place finishes. Ortiz won the Sprint aboard Elite Power, the Classic aboard White Abarrio, and the Filly and Mare Sprint aboard Goodnight Olive.

Two riders had two victories each over the weekend: Junior Alvarado and Ryan Moore. Alvarado won Friday’s Juvenile Fillies and Saturday’s Dirt Mile on Cody’s Wish.

Europeans entrants won five Championship races: Big Evs (Juvenile Turf Sprint), Unquestionable (Juvenile Turf), Inspiral (Filly and Mare Turf), Master of The Seas (Mile) and Auguste Rodin (Turf).

Jockey Tom Marquand (left) and trainer Michael Appleby (right) both won their first ever Breeders’ Cup race with Big Evs (Juvenile Turf Sprint)

Two jockeys and two trainer teamed up to win their first Breeders’ Cup races this weekend. Marquand and Appleby teamed up with Big Evs for the first winner of the weekend in the Juvenile Turf Sprint. This was also the first Breeders Cup start ever for the pair. Saturday, jockey Gerardo Corrales and trainer Larry Rivelli both had their first Breeders’ Cup victory with Nobals in the Turf Sprint. The win came on Corrales fourth ride in the Breeders’ Cup and Rivelli’s sixth starter.

Three horses became repeat winners this year. Goodnight Olive repeated in the Filly and Mare Sprint, Cody’s Wish repeated in the Dirt Mile, and Elite Power repeated in the Sprint. Last year’s Turf Sprint winner Caravel was back again, but was only able to finish tenth.

Eight of the 14 Breeders’ Cup races were won by the betting favorite. The winning favorites were Unquestionable (Juvenile Turf), Cody’s Wish (Dirt Mile), Inspiral (Filly and Mare Turf), Goodnight Olive (Filly and Mare Sprint), Idiomatic (Distaff), Auguste Rodin (Turf), White Abarrio (Classic) and Elite Power (Sprint).
The highest price winner of the weekend was Fiercenes (Juvenile) with a $35.00 payoff for a $2 win bet.

The Torrie Horse statue, the permanent Breeders’ Cup trophy, behind the Santa Anita grandstand Friday evening.

Breeders’ Cup Two-Day Attendance and Handle history 2023 Santa Anita Park 109,624 $176,281,989 2022 Keeneland Race Course 85,824 $189,060,373 2021 Del Mar 47,089 $182,908,409 2020 Keeneland Race Course 0 $160,472,894 2019 Santa Anita Park 109,054 $174,000,574 2018 Churchill Downs 112,667 $157,445,842 2017 Del Mar 70,420 $166,077,486 2016 Santa Anita Park 118,484 $156,861,811 2015 Keeneland Race Course 94,652 $149,869,035 2014 Santa Anita Park 98,319 $151,158,813 2013 Santa Anita Park 94,628 $160,704,877 2012 Santa Anita Park 89,742 $144,272,332 2011 Churchill Downs 105,820 $161,512,867 2010 Churchill Downs 114,353 $173,857,697 2009 Santa Anita Park 96,496 $153,271,176 2008 Santa Anita Park 86,588 $155,740,328 2007 Monmouth Park 69,584 $129,197,262

Breeders’ Cup World Championships Leading Jockeys

(by wins)                       (by earnings)
Jockey               Wins        Jockey               Earnings
Mike Smith            27         Mike Smith           $38,464,605
John Velazquez        20         John Velazquez       $37,030,275
Irad Ortiz Jr.        20         Joel Rosario         $29,062,535
Joel Rosario          15         Irad Ortiz Jr.       $27,740,345
Frankie Dettori       15         Frankie Dettori      $27,111,863
Jerry Bailey          15         Ryan Moore           $23,047,035

Breeders’ Cup World Championships Leading Trainers

(by wins)                       (by earnings)
Trainer              Wins        Trainer              Earnings
D. Wayne Lukas        20         Bob Baffert          $40,385,000
Bob Baffert           18         Aidan O'Brien        $33,795,590
Chad Brown            18         Todd Pletcher        $27,508,030
Aidan O'Brien         18         Bill Mott            $26,236,900
Bill Mott             15         Chad Brown           $24,100,690
Todd Pletcher         15         D. Wayne Lukas       $22,672,520

Breeders’ Cup quick links:

• 2023 Breeders’ Cup Wrap Up – First-time winning jockeys and trainers, statistics, how previous winners finished, top jockeys and trainers, and more for the 40th running of the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita.
• Saturday at the Breeders’ Cup Part 1 – Saturday had 5 races on the dirt, headlined by the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) won by White Abarrio. Also on the card were the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) won by Idiomatic, the Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) won by Elite Power, the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) won by Cody’s Wish, and the PNC Bank Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) won by Goodnight Olive. Get the results, charts, and photos here. Expanded results and photos: Classic, Distaff, Sprint, Dirt Mile, Filly Sprint
• Saturday at the Breeders’ Cup Part 2 – Saturday also had 4 races on the turf, headlined by the $4 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) won by Auguste Rodin. Also on the card were the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) won by Master of the Seas, the Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) won by Inspiral, and the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) won by Nobals. Get the results, charts, and more photos here. Expanded results and photos: Turf, Mile, Filly Turf, Turf Sprint
• Future Stars Friday at the Breeders’ Cup – Friday had 5 races for the Juveniles on both dirt and turf at Santa Anita, headlined by the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) won by Fierceness. Also on the card, Unquestionable won the Prevagen Juvenile Turf (G1), Just F Y I won the NetJets Juvenile Fillies (G1), Hard to Justify won the Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1), and Big Evs won the Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1). Get the results, charts, and photos here. Expanded results and more photos: Juvenile, Juvenile Turf, Juvenile, Juvenile, Juvenile Turf Sprint
• 2023 Breeders’ Cup Entries – Entries are closed and post positions have been drawn for the 2023 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Santa Anita on November 3-4. Lots of info for each race and links to horse profiles.
• Thursday Breeders’ Cup Photos – 40 horses from Thursday morning
• Wednesday Breeders’ Cup Photos – 43 horses from Wednesday morning
• Tuesday Breeders’ Cup Photos – 86 horses from Tuesday morning
• Monday Breeders’ Cup Photos – 43 horses from Monday morning
• Friday program – with PPs from Breeders’ Cup
• Saturday program – with PPs from Breeders’ Cup
• You can get individual races here below the links to each day’s full program.
• Breeders’ Cup Free Past Performances – for all 14 races from BRISnet.com
• Breeders’ Cup Weather – Check out the latest weather forecasts for the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita
• Breeders’ Cup Tickets on eBay

• Saturday at the Breeders’ Cup Part 1 – Saturday had 5 races on the dirt, headlined by the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) won by Flightline. Also on the card were the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) won by Malathaat, the Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) won by Elite Power, the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) won by Cody’s Wish, and the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) won by Goodnight Olive. Get the results, charts, and photos here.
  
• Saturday at the Breeders’ Cup Part 2 – Saturday also had 4 races on the turf, headlined by the $4 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) won by Rebel’s Romance. Also on the card were the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) won by Modern Games, the Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) won by Tuesday, and the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) won by Caravel. Get the results, charts, and more photos here.
• Future Stars Friday at the Breeders’ Cup – Friday had 5 races for the Juveniles on both dirt and turf at Santa Anita, headlined by the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) won by Forte. Also on the card, Victoria Road won the Juvenile Turf (G1), Wonder Wheel won the NetJets Juvenile Fillies (G1), Meditate won the Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1), and Mischief Magic won the Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1). Get the results, charts, and photos here.
• Breeders’ Cup Traditions – about the signature statue, the trophies and flower blankets each winner receives, and signature cocktails.
• Breeders’ Cup Hits and Near Misses – Who has won multiple times or just missed a second win plus winners who are parents of winners.
• Breeders’ Cup Field Selection Rules – how they decide who gets in if a Championship race is oversubscribed at pre-entry time.
• Satellite photo of Santa Anita from Google Maps
• Santa Anita Track Records – for all distances and surfaces.
• The Breeders’ Cup Championship Day – The official page for the Breeders’ Cup championship races. Just about anything you need to know about it: results, video clips, and race calls for past years, and eventually nominations, entries, and results.
• Breeders’ Cup Challenge Results – Winners and photos
• Points Standings – from the Breeders’ Cup
• Breeders’ Cup Postcards – Breeders’ Cup theme virtual postcards to send your friends including many past winners
• Breeders’ Cup Supplemental Entries – The old official policy on supplemental entries plus all the supplemental entries and how they fared, mostly it was a losing proposition. There are no more supplements now, only late nominations making it impossible to track since the change.
• America’s Best Racing Breeders’ Cup Special – News, lifestyle, and more
• Blood Horse Breeders’ Cup Special – Entries, news, history and more
• Daily Racing Form coverage – Full coverage with lots of news, stats, and other info. Also news for each division is available here.
• A History of Dosage in the Breeders’ Cup – from Chef-de-Race.com including dosage and pedigree info.
• European News – the latest on the Euro Entries from Sporting Life
• Send this page to a friend – know someone who would like to see this page? Click here to send them the URL.

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